THE duke like a valiant capitayne set forwarde to reskue the toune besieged, wherof hearyng the dolphyn with al his capitaines & hardy souldiours departed thence into Barrey to his great dishonor and lesse gaine, & so was the cytie of Cosney or Coney reskued to the great honor of the Englishe nacion. In the meane season kyng Henry wexed sicker and. sicker and so was layd in a horselitter and conueighed to Boys de Vyncens to whom shortly after repaired the dukes of Bedforde and Gloucester his vncles, and the erles of Salsbury and Warwike, who the kyng louyngly entertained and embrased: and whe they seyng him. in so great an agony and excedyng payne began to wepe and bewaile his paineful paines and greuous malady, He with a constant inynde without any outward shewe either of sadde countenaunce or sorowe comforted and encouraged them to be mery and ioyous. But when the crisis of his sicknes was past and that he perceiued that hellh was ouercome and had lost the victory, he rendred to God his most heartie thankes, for that chiefly that he called him out of this miserable life at suche tyme when he was of most perfite remembraunce bothe towarde God and the world and also in the time of his florishyng coquest, in the whiche he had neuer receiued misfortune, euil chance, or spot of dishonor: And turning him self to his brethren and other noble personages sayd to them. My natural brethren and trusty fredes, I se you lament, I perceiue you bewaile my death approchyng and fatall ende at hand of the whiche I am both glad and reidyce, for this short tyme and smal tract of my mortal life, shal be a testimony of my strength, a declaracion of my justice, and a settyng furth of all myne actes and procedynges, and shall be the cause that I by death shal obteine fame, glorye and renoume, and escape the reprehension of coward-. nes, and the mote of all infamy, whiche I might haue chaunsed to falle into if nature had lenger prolonged my life or daies: for it is commonly sayd, that as tyme chaungeth, condi- ' cions alter, and in long time al thinges continue not in one estate. But as eternitie is the triumpher vpo tyme, so do I trust after this short life to haue an eternal beyng, and after this miserable pilgrimage, mine hope is to enioy the celestial kyugdome, and to come to the place of rest and palice of quietnes.

Nowe as touchyng you (no doubt but this my sodaine chaunce molesteth your heartes and disquieteth your senses, and not without a cause, you lament the calamitie mid mischaunce that is like to fall on your countrey because that I in this troublous worlde and tempestious season Icue you destitute of a gouernour and ruler whiche chance is the lesse to be moned and regarded, because in all worldly thynges some thing euer lacketh and nothing long endureth: wherfore because the olde saiyng is, that in tyme of necessitie wit and wysedome be proued, I require you to consult, study and take paine to come to the ende of the iorney whiche I in my tyme haue begon and entered in, & chiefly because I haue euer loued and trusted you aboue all other persons, I require and desire you noweto shewe like loue and be as trusty to my sone that shalbe your soueraigne lord, so that whatsoeuer duty, allegiance or fauor for my liberalitie or kindnes to you shewed, was to me either of honestie or ciuilitie due or owyng: let the same for rny sake be extended, shewed and recompensed to mine heyre & successor litle prince Henry. Some persons haue hated the father & yet haue loued the child and some haue loued the father and numbered the child, of which sort I neither reken nor accompt you, but this I say, if you loue me, you ought to loue my child, not for his desert, but for myne, and sith now I shalbe taken, from you before satisfactio or recompence made to me for my manyfolde goodnes and ample benefites to you shewed in my life I say & affirme that after my death (excepte you be noted; with the blot of ingratitude, I will not say vntrueth) you ought to render the same to my child your nephue or kynsman, I pray God that you do not defraud me of the good expectacion that I haue euer had of you. And because I will not charge you, I wyl frendly exhort you to bryng vp my lytle infant in vertuous liuyng, moral doctrine, and prudentv pollicye to thentent that by your paine he may proue wise, by your, instruction, he may prone pollitike and by your ethicacion he may be able to rule a kingdome, and not to be ruled of other: by the which deuoier you shall not onely do your dutie to your prince and soueraigne lorde, but also meriteand deserue thankes of your natiuecountrey to the which you be both bound and obliged. Beside this my peticion is not onely to cofort my most Herest and welbeloued quene and espouse now beyng (as I thinke, the most dolorus and pensiue woma liuyng) but also to loue her and honor her as I haue both loued and honored you.

This Henry was a kyng whose life was immaculate & his liuyng without spot. This kyng was a prince whom all men loued & of none disdained. This prince was a capitame against whom fortune neuer frowned nor mischance once spurned. This capitaine was a shepherde whom his flocke loued and louyngly obeyed. This shepherd was such a Justiciary that no offece was vnpunished nor friendship vnrewarded. This iusticiary was so feared, that all rebellion was banished and sedicion suppressed, His vertues were nomore notable then his qualities were worthy of place, for in strength and agilitieof bodye fro his youth fewe were to him coparable: for which cause in wrestlyng, leapyng and runnyng no man almoste durst with him presume, in castyng of great yron barres and heuy stones, he excelled comonly all men. No colde made him slouthfull, nor heat caused him to loyter, and when he most labored his head was vncouered. He was no more wery of harnesthen of alight cloke. Hunger and thirst were not to him noysome. He was neuer aferde of a wounde nor neuer sorowed for the paine. He neither turned his nose from euill sauoure, nor fro smoke or dust he would not close his eyes. No man could be founde more temperate in eatyng and drinkyng, whose diete was not to delicate, but rather mete for men of warre than for virgyns Enery honest person was permitted to come to him sittyng at his mele, and either secretly or openly to declare his mynd and intent. High and weightie causes aswel betwene men of warre & other he wold gladly hear, and either determined the him selfe or comitted the to other to geue sentence. He slept very lytle and that onely by reason of bodely labour & vnquietncs of mynde, fro the whiche no small noyse could awake him, insomuche that when his soukliers either sang in the nightes or their minstreles played that all the campe sodded of their noyse, he then slept most solidly. His courage was so constant and his heart so vnnuttuble that lie cast away al feare, and dread fro him was banished. If any alarum wer made by his enemies, he was fyrst in arm n re and the fyrst that would set forward. In the time of war he gat knowledge, not onely what his enemies did, but what they sayd and entended, so that al thynges to him were knowcn, & of his deuices few persons before the thing was at the point to be done should he made priuie. He had such knowledge in orderyng and guydyng an armve and suche a grace in encouragyng his people, that the Frenchmen sayd he could not be vaquishcd in battel. lie had suche wit suche prudence and suche pollicie that he neuer enterprised any thyng before he had fully debated it and foresene al the mayne chaunccs that might happen: and when the end was concluded, he with all diligence and courage set his purpose forward. Marueilcit is to heare howe he beyng a prince of honor, a prince of youth, a prince of riches, did continually abstain fro lasciuious liuyng & blynd auarice, yea, & in the time of losse he was no more sad then in the tyme of victory, which constacy few men haue or can vse: Suche a stable stornacke had he and such a grauitie was geuen in the bottc-rne of his heart. What pollicy he had in findyng sodaine remedies for present mischiefes, and what practice he vsed in sauyng him selfe and his people in sodaine distresses excepte by his actes they did plainly appeare, I thinke it were almost a thyng incredible. What should I speakc of his bountefulnes and liberalitie no man could be more gentle, more liberal nor more free in geuyng rewardes to al persones according to their desertes: Saiyng that he had leuer dye the to be subiect to au^-ice, and that he neuer desired to haue money to kepe, but to geue and spend. He was mercyful to offenders, charitable to the nedy, indifferent to al men, faithful to his fredes, and fierce to his enemies, toward God most deuout, toward the world moderate, and to his realme a very father. What should I say, he was the blasyng comete ' and apparent lanterne in his daies, he was the mirror of Christendome & the glory of his conntrey, he was the floure of kynges passed, and a glasse to them that should succede. No Emperor in magnanimitie euer him excelled. No potentate was more piteous nor lordc more bounteous. No prince had lesse of this subiectes and neuer kyng coquered more: whose lame by his death as liuely florisheth as his actes in his life wer sene and rcmembred. When his death was published among the comen people, incotinet their heartes wer appaulled and their courages abated, their dolor so tnuche encreased & their wittes were so muche troubled that they like mad men rent their garmentes and tare their heere, accusyng and blamyng fortune which had taken away from them so precious aiewel, so noble an ornament & so sure a defence: for no doubt as much hope as was taken awaye fro the Englishmen, for the gettyng of Fraunce by his sodain death, so much trust was encreased in the stomackes of the Frenche nacion, hopyng to recouer their aucient libertie and old parentage. For whiche cause some say that he was poysoned, the Scottes write that he died of the disease of s. Fiacre, whiche is a palsey & a crape. Enguerant sayeth that he died of S. Anthonies Fier, but al these be but fables as many mo write. For Peter Basset esquire which at the time of his death was his rhriberlaiu affirmeth that he died of a Plurisis whiche at that tyme was so rare a sickenes and so straug a disease that the name was to the most part of men vnknowen & phisicions wer acquainted as lytle with any remedy for the same, and therfore euery ma iudged as he thought, and named a sickenes that he knew, shotyng not nere the pricke nor vnderstandyng the nature of the- disease. This kyng reigned, ix. yeres. v. moncthes and. xxiii. dayes & lined not ful. xxxviii. yeres: he was of stature more then the comen sort, of body lene, wel mebred & strogly made a face beautiful somwhat long necked, black heered, stout of stomake, eloquent of tong, in rnarcial affaires a very doctor, & of al chiualry the very Paragone,

His body was enbautned & closed in lede & layde in a charet royal richely apparelled with cloth of gold, vpon the corps was layd a representacion of his person adorned with robes, diademe, scepter & bal like a kyng, the which charet was drawe with. vi. horses richely trapped with seueral armes, the fyrst with the armes of S. George, the. ii. with tharmes of Normandy, the. iii. with the armes of kyng Arthur, the. iiii. with the armes of S. Edward, the fift with the armes of Fraimce enely, and the sixt with the armes cf England and Fraunce, On this Charet gaue attendance lames kyng of Scottesthe principal morner, the duke of Exceter Thomas his vncle, therle of Warwike Richard, therle of Marche Edmond, therle of Stafford Humfrey, the earle of Mortaine EdmondeBeauft'ord, the lord Fitzhugh Henry, the lord Hungerford Water, sir Lewes Robsert Burchier, sir Ihon Cornewale lord Fahope, and the lord Crumwel wer the other morners. The lord Louel, the lord Audcly, the lord Morly, the lord Souche bars the baners of sainctesand the Baron of Dudley bare the standerd&c therle of Longuile bare the baner. The Hatchementes wver borne onely by capitaines to the nobre of. xii. and roud about the charet rode. CCCCC. me of armes al in blacke harnes £ their horses barded blacke with the but of their speres vpward. The coduit & ordre of al this dolorous dole was comaiided to sir Willia. Philip treasorer of the kynges houshold and to sir Wyllia Porter his chief caruer and other. Beside this, on euery syde of the charet went. CCC, persons holdyng long torches, and lordes bearyng baners, banerols & penons. With this funeral pompe he was conueighcd from Boys de Vyncens to Paris and so to Roan, to Abbeuile, to Caleys, to Doucr and so thorough London to Westminster, where he was buried with suche solernpne ceremonies, suche mournyng of lordes, such praier of priestes, suche lamentyng of commons as neuer was before that day sene in the realme of Englande.